Spilt Perfume
by Tjay M
Summary: *BxR* "Did you really think last night would last forever? Did you really think Bakura hung the moon? There's no use crying over spilt perfume because what's done is done." Bakura's game of manipulation is revealed...


I don't own the song 'Spilt Perfume' by Pam Tillis, nor do I own YGO.

A sad Bakura x Ryou one-shot with a twist. I was going to do this to the song 'My Happy Ending' by Avril...but I liked this one better as it's told from an outsider's POV.

Edited by Himitsu Dorobou.

I know it's short... but it just happened...

X

We all saw it coming, but telling that to Ryou Bakura was pointless—all we could do was bite our tongues and hope that Ryou would be okay once it was all over. When the wall of lies, manipulation, and false love came crashing down, we had to hope that Ryou would be left standing in the wake of the disaster.

I had to admit, Yami Bakura was damn good actor and he had been pretty damn convincing. He acted as though he changed for the better, but I knew more then anyone that Yami Bakura could not and _would not_ change. I tried to tell Ryou this...but the boy wouldn't listen. It left me with no choice but to sit back and watch the spirit of the Millennium Ring manipulate Ryou shamelessly. Saying all the right things, doing all the right things.

Bakura had tried everything he could imagine to bring his light, Ryou, into submission, and why wouldn't he? Ryou had betrayed him twice; cost him the Millennium Puzzle twice, and even a trip to the shadow realm. But nothing the spirit did or tried to do could break the boy's spirit. Bakura was on the verge of giving up and calling it a lost cause until...until that night.

All Ryou ever wanted was to be loved. Bakura learned about Ryou's weakness after a horrible falling out between Ryou and his father...and Bakura was the king of manipulation, so what did the heartless Thief King do? He abused Ryou's greatest need and desire; he pretended to fall in love with Ryou. Bakura said all the things Ryou wanted to hear and he did all the things that Ryou needed, like taking him out on dates, holding him close, being tender and gentle...and Ryou fell for it all. It worked, and it didn't take long until he had Ryou in the palm of his hand, doing whatever Bakura wanted just like the lovesick fool he was.

Bakura's act was good... hell, Bakura even had _me_ fooled for a while. But seeing through Bakura's lies and false affections became easier as time advanced. What Bakura was really planning became clear as day. Bakura was never much good at hiding his real intentions for long periods of time.

Maybe if Ryou had been better at reading people he'd have seen this coming, too...

But not even _I_ had seen this coming. If I had known just how far Bakura was going to push this...this...game—if I had known just how far out of control the situation was...I would have stepped in at the beginning. I would have stopped this. It had continued much longer than I had ever thought it would, and I hated how Bakura was drawing things out. Sometimes though, I wondered just what he gained from this charade—did he enjoy playing with Ryou's heart and hopes so much that he wanted it to last, so that the fall would be that much harder? I really didn't understand why he kept it up so long.

Ryou came to me the morning after... the morning after he had given Bakura everything he could possibly give. Bakura's game had lasted for a long time but...as time went on he became more and more careless with both his words and actions. Eventually he had let more slip out then he might have wished.

Ryou looked horrible; his hair was a mess and his eyes were red from tears. He was shaking and sobbing as the tears fell for the man..._the_ man...he had trusted, loved, and who he had thought loved him back. A man who took everything away... a man who thought the whole thing was a game. That was all Ryou's emotions were to him...a game he had played and won.

I sat Ryou down and listened, and offered all the comfort I could. That was all I _could_ do. As much as I wanted Bakura to pay for this, I was powerless...and it wasn't my place. If Bakura could be so heartless and cruel to the person he had shared a body, mind, and soul with...what would he do to someone else?

I sat and listened as Ryou insulted himself, repeating that he should have known, he should have seen this coming...but how could he? Bakura played the part of 'Romeo' perfectly.

"_Ryou...did you really think Bakura was for real? Did you really think it would last forever? Did you actually think Bakura hung the moon? I know you fell in a moment of weakness...he found your weakness and he preyed upon it. Now you have to pick yourself up and learn that what's done is done, and there isn't any use crying over it. I know you hate yourself right now...so stop it. Hell, he even had me fooled...well, for a while."_

X

"**I ain't even gonna ask you,**

**I can read you like a book,**

**Girl, if I ever saw one that's an,**

**I can't believe I did that look,**

**You look like something,**

**That the cat drug in,**

**So I won't kick you while you're down,**

**Just let me tell you, friend to friend,**

**About a block I've been around."**

"**Did you really think last night,**

**Would last forever,**

**Did you really think that guy,**

**Hung the moon**,

**Right now, you hate yourself,**

**Cuz you knew better,**

**But there's no use crying,**

**Over spilled perfume."**

"**There's a big difference,**

**Between lonely and,**

**Lonely for way too long,**

**And I knew when he made his move,**

**You weren't feeling all that strong,**

**So I bit my tongue,**

**Cuz I saw it coming,**

**It's two steps forward and three steps back**,

**When a heart is on the mend."**

"**You fell in a moment of weakness,**

**When, you've just gotta,**

**Pull yourself back up,**

**Dry your morning-after tears,**

**Cuz what's done is done."**

X

"I should have known better than...how could I be so...stupid." Ryou asked calmly. He shook his head. His face was still a mess but he was sitting higher in his seat, with an oddly composed expression placed across his face.

"_No…no, you couldn't have known. There was no way to know what he was planning."_

He said nothing for a moment; then as he stared at the floor he said something that caught me off guard. "I regret none of it. If I could go back...I wouldn't change a thing."

"_Ryou...how can you say that? He played you. He used you. He took advantage of you while you were down."_

"He made me happy—even if it wasn't real—for one year, six months, two weeks, and three days. I was happy. I loved the way he made me feel...and the sad thing is, I still love him."

"_Did you really love him to being with? Or did you love the person he was pretending to be? Did you love him when he was Yami Bakura? Or did you love him because he changed, because he held you, and said all those empty, meaningless words?"_

"I still love him. Even if it was all just a lie." Ryou repeats coldly before standing up and leaving. I know he's going to face Bakura. I want to go with him...but I won't. I can't. This is between Ryou and Bakura. "Thanks for being such a good friend, Marik."

"_Do you really love him? Or are you also a player in this game of manipulation? To be honest...I can no longer tell if it's Bakura manipulating you...or if it's the other way around."_

X

End... I know it's not long... and it just came out of nowhere... but I like how it turned out.

Please review and let me know what you think.


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